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Iron Man
Tony Stark inherited Stark Industries from his father at the age of 21, and is said to be an engineering genius to the point that he obtained global awards. He is infamous for his partying and womanizing. He has suffered hard as a result as well, having a heart attack as a young age and being shot in the back and almost crippled by his now ex-Kathy Dare. After losing everything when Obadiah Stane took over Stark International, he had rebuilt from the ashes a new company, Circuits Maximus. It was later discovered Stane blew the company up and during a battle between Stane as Iron Monger and Stark's bodyguard Iron Man, Stane was killed. Stark then built Stark Enterprises, soon returning to New York City after buying back Stane International. The company is once again away from military production, and Stark appears healthier than ever. His partying has apparently taken a turn toward minimum existence these days though. Iron Man has been having an almost as chaotic life as his employer. He has even been out of Stark's employment off and on while Stark was in California, when Iron Man remained an active Avenger. He is one of the founding Avengers, and he has quite a number of toys designed after him. And let us not forget the bed sheets, lunchboxes, baseball caps and more. Iron Man is often seen as a symbol for Stark's company, one of commitment for a better tomorrow. Background "Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just can’t be touched, but inside is this wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you know, his heart was broke, literally broken." Quote by: Iron Man writer Gerry Conway ^ Anthony Edward Stark a.k.a. "Tony" is the son to Howard and Maria Stark. Howard was the owner of Stark Industries, a war militias business and an inventor, while Maria was famous for her charity events and giving heart. ^ Going from playing with erector sets and dreaming of King Arthur, Tony’s life dramatically changed when his workaholic and alcoholic father sent him away to boarding school at the age of seven. Dispute his shy nature, Tony excelled at his schooling and learned to adapt. ^ Tony was often watched over by Jarvis in his youth, and was never particularly close to his parents. Still, he was a genius and at the age of 15, he enrolled in MIT. He graduated in only a few years with a double major in physics and engineering with ease. ^ Tony begins to date Meredith McCall, his first serious relationship during his teenage years. She was the daughter of a business competitor, and it caused their romance to be quite forbidden. Later, she would marry Dr. Sloane Alden, the future villain Frostbite. ^ Tony spent his life partying then, though he easily created radical innovative weapons for his father as his father’s right-hand man. His partying ways continued to create a split between him and his father. ^ At the age of 21, something had to change however as both his parents were killed in a car accident. Tony was the new owner of Stark Industries, the latest of the long line of Stark inheritors from the original founding of Isaac Stark Sr. in the 19th century. Tony’s first act as owner was to purchase the car company that had the defect that murdered his parents, and overhauled their entire approach to its brake design. He did not know that the 'accident' was arranged by a group of industry competitors, Roxxon Oil. ^ After two years of learning the ropes, Tony worked tirelessly to expand the company into a multi-national corporation. He turned Stark Industries into a multi-billion dollar industry. He also had military contracts with the U.S. Government and the U.N. To this day, Stark doesn’t believe he could have made it without Pepper Potts by his side, whom he had promoted from secretary after she had caught an oversight in a government contract that saved the company over a half million dollars. ^ Pepper Potts is always there to pick up the pieces when Tony screws up. ^ Tony becomes engaged to his girlfriend, Jovanna Nivena, a socialite. ^ Tony goes to Afghanistan as a consultant to the US military and is caught in an explosion from one of his own company’s land mines by a terrorist force. With shrapnel lodged in his chest next to his heart, it is only a matter of time before death. ^ There, he met Professor Ho Yinsen who was believed dead, a brilliant physicist and also a fellow prisoner. The two of them worked together to create armor to save Tony’s failing life and also to be used as an escape. During this time, the insurgents group thought they were using Tony to create weapons of destruction in exchange for the promise of medical attention. ^ While trapped into a booting Iron Man suit which was equipped with his experimental transistors, Yinsen left the prison and created a distraction to give Tony time. As a result, Yinsen sacrificed his life for Tony. Tony then destroyed the insurgents’ camp and escaped. ^ Still clad as Iron Man, Tony runs into Jim Rhodes who shot first and asked questions later. The two decided to help each other to escape enemy territory. This was done by jumpstarting Jim’s helicopter, and routing another camp of enemy soldiers on their way to a US military outpost. They became fast friends after that. ^ Not long after his return, Stark began to move the focus from weapons development at Stark Industries, to other technological innovations such as medical and electronic. ^ Iron Man was publicly announced as Tony Stark's bodyguard, but not long after Tony confessed to Jovanna Nivena. Rather than sacrifice a normal family life, she broke the engagement. ^ Tony paints Iron Man gold, go Golden Avenger! It is suggested by Marion, Tony’s new girlfriend. They dated casually for a while. ^ When testing his "Stark Special" racecar he is in an accident and pulled from the wreckage by former boxer Happy Hogan. The two quickly become friends and Happy is hired as chauffeur and a secondary bodyguard. ^ The villain Jack Frost attacks Stark Industries, which employed him. ^ Kang the Conqueror attempts to destroy some of the Avengers members before they can form, but only causes them to form for a different reason, thus altering the timeline. Kang had such a good idea, that those gathered decided to go with it! Headquarters are established in Stark Mansion. ^ Iron Man defeats the Crimson Dynamo and convinces him to work for Stark Industries. ^ The Red/Gold Armor is created to defeat Mr. Doll. ^ Pepper Potts repeatedly saves Stark, discovering he is Iron Man. In return, Stark saves Pepper Pott's life whenever she is targeted. ^ Stark Missiles are stolen and Stark's penthouse is destroyed. He goes to China to discover the Mandarin, stopping this evil plots. ^ Unicorn decides to face Iron Man. He defeats Happy and kidnaps Pepper Potts. Iron Man hunts him down to save his personal assistant. ^ Stark and Natasha have romantic relations, but a slip up causes Stark to discover that Natasha is Black Widow, and he quickly shuts out the Soviet spy before his identity of Iron Man can be discovered. ^ Iron Man distances himself from the Avengers, but Stark still financially backs them. He still keeps his dual identity, and when defeating communist Titanium Man in a televised fight for national pride, Happy Hogan reveals that he figured out who Iron Man was. ^ Tony helps the U.N. establish the super spy agency SHIELD and is instrumental in recruiting Nick Fury as its director. Stark Industries creates a government contract with SHIELD. ^ Mandarin discovers the alien android Ultimo the 25-foot-tall robot, and has it attack Iron Man. ^ Whiplash slugs it out with Iron Man for the first time, the two coming to a standstill. ^ Tony starts to date Janice Cord. Daughter to a business rival, Drexel Cord, they still try to make things work. ^ Stark suffers a heart attack and gets a synthetic heart replacement, freeing himself from the chest plate that required daily recharging. ^ Tony's relationship with Janice Cord fails when she dies during a battle between Iron Man, Titanium Man and the new Crimson Dynamo. ^ Madame Masque, Mordecai Midas and the Controller make appearances. ^ Tony creates the Guardsman armor for engineer Kevin O'Brien, but the armor causes O'Brien to go insane, and attack Tony's new girlfriend Marianne Rodgers. Kevin is accidentally killed by Iron Man in a later skirmish. ^ Marianne Rodgers and Stark break up. Little does he know she is plagued with visions when she was dating him, and as a result became distant. With the wedding cancelled, Marianne soon went into madness and had to be committed. ^ Stark Industries finally becomes Stark International, leaving behind weapons development and manufacturing. ^ Iron Man saves Sawyer Mason (OC) from a collapsing building. Shortly after, Tony Stark returns her motorcycle and finds a witty girl that doesn't worship him. ^ A few weeks later, Iron Man shows up with Steve Rogers (posing as Avenger security), and She-Hulk for Sawyer's 18th birthday party, surprising her. Tony sent a gift card to an auto place with motorcycle parts as a gift, and she was gifted with the founders and Kinetic's signed photos. ^ Jack Frost returns as the criminal Blizzard. ^ Stark and Sawyer Mason begin to date, her down to Earth personality and sarcastic tongue bringing him great amusement. Her refusal to fly though brings them into some conflict. ^ Michael O'Brien, the brother of the original Guardsman, finds out about his brother's death and takes up the Guardsman mantel, briefly posing as Iron Man and causing chaos. ^ Jim Rhodes (pilot), Bethany Cabe (bodyguard) and Bambi Arbogast (executive assistant) comes to work for Stark International. ^ Justin Hammer wages war on Stark's business. ^ Sawyer Mason and Stark start to fight over Bethany Cabe and his drinking after he shows up on a number of dates drunk and with Bethany Cabe often in tow. ^ Iron Man is framed for murder. Tony trains under Captain America in martial arts and other fighting techniques while he works to clear Iron Man’s name. ^ Though Tony wins against Hammer, the stress drives him to drink. His budding romance with Bethany Cabe helps save him. Tony is split between Sawyer and the understanding connection he shares with Bethany Cabe. ^ Space Armor MK 1 is used to investigate an orbiting Roxxon satellite, Industrialist Edwin Cord is jailed after he ordered the Raiders to attack Iron Man, and Stark uses his new stealth armor to invade a top-secret East German research complex, resulting in an ongoing feud with the villainous Living Laser. ^ Bethany Cabe's husband, who was believed dead, is soon saved. Bethany steps back from Stark to stand by her husband. Stark doesn't tell Sawyer Mason. ^ Pepper Potts is kidnapped by a Russian company that was associated with Hammer. Working to obtain information to use against Stark, Iron Man had to go to Russia to rescue Pepper Potts. Pepper Potts suffered at the enemies hands and as a result bore her own internal scars. ^ Obadiah Stane begins a hostile takeover of Stark International, setting sights on destroying Iron Man, and forcing Tony back to the bottle. ^ Sawyer Mason and Tony break up after a terrible row. Sawyer accuses him of cheating on her with Bethany Cabe, and depending on the bottle rather than her. ^ Tony lapses into full-blown alcoholism. Jim is required to take over Iron Man full-time, and not just as a short-time favor. As a result, Stark International becomes Stane International. ^ Tony flees his responsibilities to the streets, hiding away from the world. For a month he hides on the streets. He meets a homeless pregnant woman by the name of Gretl. On the night of one of the worse blizzards NYC has never known, Stark had an empty wallet and drank the last of his liquor. He went into a pawn shop and sold his close, spending it on more liquor. That is when Gretl found him, the baby was coming. Unable to reach a hospital, they hid in a nearby doorway. During the night, Gretl gave birth. A frail woman, she died while Tony buddle the child up inside his suit jacket to keep the babe warm. The police found them the next morning, the child alive. The infant was taken to nearby St. Vincent’s hospital, Gretl was buried and forgotten, and Tony? Tony was hospitalized, and a week and day later, he decided to save himself. ^ Stark moves to California and founds Circuits Maximus, still leaving Iron Man to Jim Rhodes. ^ When Stane destroys Circuits Maximus, Stark dons on the Silver Centurion armor, defeating War Mongrol and actually killing him during the battle. Finally freed, Stark sets up a new company called Stark Enterprises and takes back the Iron Man suit. ^ Iron Man uses his underwater armor for the first time when searching for chemical weapons at the bottom of the ocean. ^ The Ghost attacks a new subsidiary of Stark Enterprises, bringing him into conflict with Iron Man for the first time. ^ Tony dates Kathy Dare, who after becoming obsessed and unstable, shoots Stark and paralyzes him. With an experimental microchip, Stark regains the ability to walk, but it is not reliable. He creates the Neuromimetic Telepresence Unit. ^ In a search for a cure to his spinal condition, Tony runs into the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom. ^ Stark re-obtains Stane International and incorporates it into Stark Enterprises. He finally moves back to New York City. ^ Tony is not sure when he will be able to defeat his illness and asks Rhodey to step up again, but this time with his own Iron Man suit. ^ Tony is called in by Dr. Maya Hansen, the two having met some time ago at a convention. Remote Controlled Iron Man is defeated by a terrorist that used the Extremis Virus, and Tony edits the virus for his own use, creating a cure for his nervous system. Stark dons Iron Man once more and stops the terrorist from attacking Washington, killing the terrorist as there was no other way. ^ Dr. Maya Hansen assists Stark with the development of the Extremis Armor. She is later arrested for treason, her betrayal at purposely letting the Extremis Serum get stolen, discovered by Stark. ^ With Iron Man back full-time, Rhodey opts the moniker War Machine. ^ Stark is now trying to repair his relationship with the Avengers whom he has been distant from for long periods of time. He is also working to get Pepper Potts to return to work for him. Personality *'Grief Stricken:' Tony has lost many of the people he has cared for and respected. His mother and father died in a terrible accident when he was only 21. He also lost a friend he greatly admired in college, Ho Yinsen, who died saving his life. By making friends with Rhodey, it likely saved him from falling into deep depression immediately or even off the handle. Still, he often only lets Rhodey so close before pushing him back. The same is for the friendships he developed with Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan. He doesn't let anyone close enough to really deal with his grief, not even his life-time butler, Jarvis who he is close to like a father more-so than a friend. The constant betrayals by women have also deepened his instinctive distrust and fear of being hurt. *'Driven:' Tony is driven. If something pops in his head or a concept that he thinks needs done, he will go and do it. However, he doesn't work nine-to-five to just sit down and 'create'. Tony can also be driven in other ways. Such being a hero as Iron Man, which at times he has epically failed at, but he constantly works at achieving master of each time he dons the suit. In either case, once Tony gets an idea in his head, there is no stopping him. *'Self-Destructive:' Tony can be very self-destructive. This includes his alcoholism, his womanizing and in even is workaholic attitude in a way. His relationships have often epically failed even when he wants them to work out, it always seems to backlash. Staying sober is not an easy thing for him to do, and it is a constant battle against his innate desires. *'Moral:' Though Tony can often view life with the viewpoint that the ends justify the means, he can also be very moral. He doesn't approve of cold-blooded murder, he believes in honesty with business transactions, in being true to one's country (for example he refused to build weapons for terrorists that would be used against his own country's soldiers). Though Tony will often see in grays, when push comes to shove, he does whatever he believes is the right thing, often no matter what the cost is or even if others would disapprove. Just don't expect Tony's morals to always match the written law. *'Idealistic:' Tony isn't really an idealist, but he understands the concept and it doesn't mean he wouldn't like to see an ideal world at some point. He strongly believes in hiring for his company the best qualified and talented, and is not influenced by race or color; nor would he care if someone was a mutant or not. He doesn't believe in using scrape goats, and more often than not mutants are used as such. He believes all should have the same rights under the law, not just 'humans'. Honestly, Tony dislikes using that term to refer to non-mutants. Though Tony can purposely neglect political correctness, it does not mean he is unaware of it. *'Powerful:' Tony is a powerful man. Be it money, influence or intellectually. This power often displays itself through his charisma and can cause overconfidence to even offense in some instances. It wouldn't be the first time a woman dumped a drink on him for forgetting her name or just being an insincere jerk. Still, when used properly, Tony can make quite the impression and use his powerful demeanor and charisma to diplomatic results. He just rarely ever does so. *'Compassionate:' Tony is surprisingly compassionate. He may get angry at someone, or upset at their unwillingness to see his point of view, but he can be forgiving and accepting as well. Even with the side-effects of the added aggression from the Extermis Serum, Stark is still the type to pick up a lost child without hesitation to find their parent, or make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world (risking his life) without second thought. Just don't ask him to admit it. *'Stubborn:' There are people more stubborn than Stark, but he certainly knows how to be very good at it! This is when his aggression can often come out to play (other than someone accidentally hitting a pet peeve). Pushing Stark to do something he doesn't believe should be done, or doesn't want to do can be a bad thing. For one, he will dig his heels in, and few can dissuade him to give in (Pepper Potts being one of those very few). He can become rude; push people away, to even isolate himself to just make a point. He's a pain in the butt when he gets this way. Logs Pre-Vamp Logs *(MRM: 2011-03-03 - The Men's Journal: Stark's Rebirth with Stark Enterprises) *(DB: 2011-03-26 - Mad Thinker Strikes Again!) *2011-04-07 - Business and Family - Stark gets tackled by Asia watching, calling his semi-girlfriend for backup, and dealing with a business meeting all in one. Three times the fun? *2011-04-08 - Changing the World - Stark gets to save a very broke Nessa in a cafe, and they discuss how best to change the world for the better. *2011-04-08 - That's my Girl, Girl Employee - Amelia pays Tony a visit to discuss the promotion that was briefly touched upon the night previously. *2011-04-15 - DOOM go BOOM! - Dr. Doom gets his hands on an incomplete cosmic cube, leaving the Avengers cleaning up the mess - and the cube. *2011-06-02 - Memorial Day Gossip - People gather to celebrate Memorial Day in Stark Enterprises fashion of grandness. *2011-07-15 - Game Play - Stark needs as break and some sympathy. Well, he at least gets the break as he plays the 'in development' Avengers vs. Kang the Conqueror S-HoloBox game with two of his friends. *2011-07-16 - Avengers in Danger! - Wolverine appears at the Avenger's Mansion under pretense. He ends up telling them about a plot against the Avengers. In the end, they discover it has already started. Category:Marvel Feature Category:Marvel Hero Category:New York City Category:Marvel Taken